£30 million for community-owned energy

This week the government announced the first 30 million pounds of a promised 1 billion pounds to help communities own and run their own clean energy. For a village with a community centre, a church, sports clubs and a lot of roofs, it is worth understanding properly (gov.uk (https://www.gov.uk/government/news/peoples-power-projects-to-give-more-control-over-local-energy)).

What has been announced

Great British Energy, the publicly owned energy company, launched the funding on 17 September 2026 with the aim of supporting more than 1,000 local and community-led projects over time. The first 30 million pounds is split into a 20 million pound Community Fund for community groups in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, a 5 million pound Partnerships Grant for English councils working with community energy groups, and up to 2.9 million pounds for advice services. A further 1.8 million pounds goes to Scotland's existing scheme (Energy Live News (https://www.energylivenews.com/2026/09/17/you-can-own-an-energy-project-says-labour/)).

What it can pay for

The examples given range from solar panels on public buildings to village-owned wind farms and hydro schemes on nearby rivers. The Community Fund is aimed at testing, developing and building community-owned clean energy assets.

The key condition: a real community stake

Projects must show that the community holds a defined legal and financial interest in the asset, and that a share of the benefits stays local. In practice that could be a co-operative or community benefit society selling shares to residents, a group that owns the panels on a hall roof, or a council and community group in partnership. Individual homeowners cannot apply, so this is for groups, not households.

Pros and cons

The benefits are clear: lower bills for the buildings involved, income that stays in the village, and a say in how it is spent. The trade-offs are that projects need organising, a legal structure and volunteers' time, and the earlier development stages are grant-funded while building costs still need funding. Groups that talk to their regional hub early tend to fare best.

Where things stand for our area

In England the fund is delivered through regional Net Zero Hubs, and ours is the Greater South East Net Zero Hub. When we checked its funding page on 13 September, it was not accepting applications and gave no dates. Reports since the 17 September announcement say applications have opened, but timing varies by region, so please check the Greater South East Net Zero Hub funding page (https://www.gsenetzerohub.org.uk/financing-local-net-zero/funding/) and the Great British Energy website rather than relying on us for dates.

What this means for Forest Row

We have community buildings, a strong volunteer base and plenty of shared roof space. If you help run a hall, church, club or group here and think solar or a battery could work, come and talk to us at a drop-in. We can help you think through the idea and where to start.

Before you go further

Send us a recent bill through our quotes and bills review (https://www.forestrowenergy.com/quotes-bills-review) to see what a building uses, see the wider picture on our grants page (https://www.forestrowenergy.com/grants), and if you want to compare installers, start with our audited local suppliers (https://www.forestrowenergy.com/local-suppliers) list.

The Forest Row Energy Coop team